Dread seeing the dentist? What if she offered you Shiatsu and a free movie?

The countdown goes something like this: 3) IRS auditor, 2) ex-husband's new 20-year-old girlfriend, 1) dentist. The top three people we most hate to see.

"Let's face it," says Dr. Lorin Berland, a dentist in Dallas. "Dentistry can suck." A third of Americans, according to the National Center for Health Statistics, haven't even set foot in the dentist's office in the past year.

Berland, along with an increasing number of dentists all over the country, is trying to change that. He wants dental appointments to be less about pain and drilling and more about relaxation, foot massage and soothing aromatherapy.